4-Star Pokémon Aren't as Good as You Think. | Pokémon GO IVs Explained for 2024

[@AZN420BMX]

Here's my two cents on IVs, I like having 4* IVS because I know I'm not gonna find anything better and feel comfortable powering it up. If it's less than a 4* I always think "what if I get a better one?" So that's why I like 4* IVs.

[@k.b.5079]

Exactly! The only time I give it a pass is when it’s shiny, and even then it depends on the circumstances. For example, my “lucky” Shiny Mewtwo is a perfect 12. I will not power it up knowing that I can easily get something better, especially since it doesn’t even have any legacy move attached to it. So when SB and PS Mewtwo come back, I will be ready to catch one and if it comes out to be a Shundo, it’s over. Time to farm a million XL candies

[@richterbelmont2544]

It depends, for example, you power up a 98% Pokemon and find a 100% later on. Just means you have two powerful Pokemon to power up. In the case of raids, it's good to have multiple high powered Pokemon like Mewtwo or Machamp.

[@k.b.5079]

@@richterbelmont2544 that is true. Bc a 98% is pretty much a 100%. I have 2 98 Lugia and a 96 Shiny Heatran. I cannot discredit their stats and will use them when needed

[@frishter]

Same here. With the XL system, I especially don't like upgrading anything other than a hundo to level 50.

[@richterbelmont2544]

@@k.b.5079 Very nice! I have lousy luck with Lugia stats. Mine are all in the 80 percentile . I would like to get a 93 or better.

[@stevenprevete8930]

I knew most of this stuff but honestly the vibe was great so i stayed tuned in. One of the best GO youtubers, totally chill. No over the top. I respect it homie

[@chrisschwartz1619]

Bro!!! I'm a newer player for a little over a year now and this is one of the most educational tips I have seen!! Thank you for taking the time to explain this. Keep up the great work!

[@peacearena]

@@ereneren6813 they did say newER. Personally, I'm will to let people set their own description in this matter. On the *slight chance* that they know where they are on the experience scale than anyone else does.

[@streamys6419]

@@ereneren6813 doesnt mean they play consistently like you 😑

[@ssj2trunks103]

hahaha looking at you guys going at it is funny... everyone has different Lvs of experience as the game goes... this game doesn't show or really let you know the fun interesting things that would make it more fun am enjoyable... for example that when one is doing a friend Pokémon one can used the gym 3 wins with your friend mon in the party equals 3 fight hearts! little things like that

[@badboymorales]

He use to do great videos like this but he stopped playing Pokemon go, now he plays periodically and doesn't do tip videos anymore. I think this is hes first tip video in a year . Its been a while since a good tip video

[@doctorlpax]

@@ereneren6813 lol I am playing (with large breaks in between) from 2016 and I am still 37, how do you reach that high level in just one year, amazing!

[@kokinutz]

Imagine if purifying gave a 20% boost to defense and nerf to attack(opposite of shadow)So purifying made your tanky tanks even tankier

[@varsik289]

Technically they give +2 IVs on defense though... So they DO boost defense

[@nickhamlett3583]

​@varsik289 unless they're already a hundo then it's kinda pointless

[@MiffedKitten]

​@@nickhamlett3583 still pointless. Won't increase IV if already hundo

[@onyxtemperzz2579]

@@nickhamlett3583 anything 12/12/12 or higher isn't worth purifying because of the 20% attack bonus as shadow ... this is also probably one of the most over worded and over complicated video on IVs anyone could watch, there are much simpler videos from bigger PoGo youtubers that explain it easier for people that don't know what they're talking about

[@Starpotion]

There really should be a stat benefit to purifying to actually make it unique from regular Pokémon, because as it is now it's better to keep it shadow 99% of the time

[@kevinreusch1590]

Nick these video concepts are a total reboot for the channel and back to trainer tips roots. Keep it up!! 👍

[@davidandmelindasvenson870]

I've been playing Pokemon Go since 2016 and I just learned more about the game then in the last 6 years combined. Thank you!!!

[@PoGoFoShoDoe]

That’s been me the past few months. I couldn’t believe the amount of stuff I didnt know about

[@backjack5407]

Fr like I thought spin balls just gave you a bit more stardust or sum 💀

[@risa.harris]

Same

[@CraynosGaming]

Once again, I watched the whole video Nick. Not a bad reminder on IV stats. It is nice to be updated on this information. Also, I like how you speak and walk-the-walk by sharing your Pokémon that are not 100% IVs, but you still power them up.

[@MikoWhy93]

Cool but trust me if you doing solo/Duo raids like me, that 4% attack DMG is huge different.

[@christophergrant6070]

FACTS, especially if you are lacking shadow mons. Apart from megas, Hundos are the next best thing!

[@xDbrad]

Well yeah 4% more attack would make a difference but you're comparing a literal 0 IV pokemon to a 4 star, worst to best case scenario and it's still only 4%, the difference between lets say a 12/12/12 to a 15/15/15 is literally a couple seconds worth of time

[@victos-vertex]

But you wouldn't go with a 0IV pokemon anyways. 300 to 315 ATK is 5% increase or 4.76% decrease from 315 to 300. 312 to 315 ATK is 0.96% increase or 0.95% decrease from 315 to 312. On top of that it's easier to get a 15/12/12 than a 15/15/15, both will have the same ATK though.

[@blogtrump9965]

And the 8.2% defense

[@fraxz88]

Facts

[@helloshyann]

Thank you, Nick. I can now be at peace with all my zero star shiny Pokémon that I felt pressured to lucky trade. I have always wanted a shiny Politoed, and have been holding onto a shiny Poliwag in hopes that one day I could lucky mirror trade it for better IVs and finally evolve it. But, screw it, I'm gonna evolve it today and start enjoying it now. I feel like you're leading a liberation of expectations from this game so we can get back to loving Pokémon GO again.

[@brianwenzel912]

Now you need a second one for Poliwrath...

[@o2Hayden]

ayy i feel the same. While this does slightly feel like my hundos aren’t as important, i have way more shinies with bad stats that unnecessarily weigh on my mind of “needing another one with better stats before i evolve and level up”

[@hopelesspandora4195]

the stats are only important if you're planning on competitive ranked battles, if not there's no real need

[@Hundredacredaycare]

True

[@finalhearts676]

@@hopelesspandora4195 this is spot on. 75% of the Pokemon in the game you don't even have to worry about the IV at all!

[@sentientboxofcookies1843]

It’s all a trick to stop us from hunting shundos, don’t fall for it trainers!

[@cacyk4103]

Yeah! We will not Fall for propaganda 4* bidoof 4life

[@kindrickeston3137]

It's definitely a trick none of this info has been released from someone inside Niantic so it's just speculation to get other to get shitty pokemon so they'll win more in battle league

[@nezantra]

So this is the power of team Ultra Instinct...

[@JorgeMorales-xv6qx]

He’s saying it matters only in the great and ultra league

[@dylanrathbun8084]

They are honestly just taking up space if they will probably never be used.

[@dylanrb88]

Excellent video! Only thing I would add is the IVs of pokemon used for maximum DPS in raids. Since one of the ways you gain energy for charged moves is based on how much damage the raid boss does to you, having 15 Atk/0 Def/15 HP allows you to gain energy faster (with the disadvantage of not lasting as long in battle). Essentially makes it more of a glass cannon, but can be really useful in doing solo/duo/trio raids on powerful raid bosses.

[@andrewregard7250]

This is great info!!! Never knew that.

[@thedude1331]

Thanks man, this was pretty good info, I'll keep this in mind when I get to making raiding pokemon teams.

[@UnknownVir]

@@thedude1331 You really shouldn't be trying this unless you're regularly doing challenge raids, while this works in theory you might also die after getting off one less charge move which can yank your DPS. The stat that can swing DPS most is attack, as sometimes you'll deal less damage with every fast move which adds up a bunch.

[@KanineC]

I've been thinking about your comment a lot for the last three weeks. I've never seen anyone else express this, so it's really stuck with me. Is it possible to actually see in which cases this will be advantageous? As Unknown said above me, it seems risky to follow with something like Rampardos that is already glassy. How much energy gain difference would one expect by going with a 15/0/15 versus a 98%?

[@dylanrb88]

@@KanineC Did some digging and found a reddit post that breaks down it's limited use cases. It appears I overstated the benefits, but there are some edge cases where solo/duo raids can be make or break depending on your defense stat. Hopefully it let's me share the link, but thank you for motivating me to do some more digging and learn the real uses of it.

[@nezukoismywaifu]

I'm so happy for content like this. It's information we all need. Plus I feel like a better player knowing it. Thank you so much, Nick!

[@nicolaplays1134]

This feels like a blast from the past, in a good way - I found your channel all those years ago looking for fundamental information about the game, just this sort of thing. Good to see you doing this sort of content again, and I hope you're finding it rewarding, too :)

[@ThatHollowGuy]

Worth mentioning, the shadow legendries from Giovani have a minimum IV floor of 6 if I remember correctly. Having them weather boosted just changes the shadows catch level from 8 to 12.

[@SolidMeat]

didnt know this thanks

[@Luffa187]

So the IV floor doesn't change in weather boost for shadow legendaries because an IV floor of 6 is already higher than the weather boost floor of 4? That's good to know.

[@Toast-jl9lo]

I got a 14 15 15 from him for latias

[@Luffa187]

@@Toast-jl9lo Congrats! That's insane IV's. I decided to keep my radar for another shadow legendary later. Hopefully the next one is a better one

[@Toast-jl9lo]

@@Luffa187 yeah I am newer to the game about a month so I don’t really know anything except high cp and don’t purify lmao good luck tho

[@DiaperMoney]

Having a pokemon with 0 ATK for PVP is so counter-intuitive.... But glad I know and could make a difference when fighting trainer with the same pokemon

[@BeautifulShaving]

Ty Nick for explaining this so clearly & concisely! Now when my friends & I are trying to clear out our pokemon storage, we'll have a better idea as to which to keep & which ones to transfer. I've noticed through the years that sometimes my 3* & certain 2* mons are Better in Battle League , etc than my 4* mons are & often wondered why.

[@strongshapeaims6696]

I love how you explained this so clearly. I have been playing for a couple of months and have been watching different KZbin videos regarding IVs. I have not clearly understood it until I watched this particular video!! Thank you so much!! This information helps me make better decisions to meet my goals in Pokémon Go.

[@morsam28]

This video is very good Nick. Glad you're happy doing this kind of content again.

[@crimsontengu8186]

Man, you explained it soo good, I understood your explanation more easily than other content creators in my native language. Really thanks, +1 suscriber.

[@gillgameshblue7490]

Great tip for any trainers. One thing I would add that pairs with this is once your pokemon reaches lvl 30 then the increase in cp significantly drops while the amount of stardust becomes much more expensive. So if you're a casual player and don't play PVP then having more pokemon at lvl 30 is more useful and less costly than having a few pokemon at lvl 40. One other thing is the reduced stardust from lucky pokemon makes a HUGE difference. It would cost 1600 LESS stardust to lvl up a lucky pokemon from lvl 3.5 to 30 than it would cost to lvl up a regular pokemon from 23.5 to 30.

[@alexanderjohnson9753]

Yeah! I took a 40cp gyarados to 3040cp because it was lucky for like 100,000 stardust

[@captainreeaper8056]

I loved this video. Finally made it a bit easier to understand the difference in Pokémon Go. I was always curious how IVs worked in Go versus the casual game and how CP goes into play. Thanks for that! Even for the shadow Pokémon being stronger, I just knew it was a thing but didn’t know why. Everyone around just knew but didn’t have an answer lol

[@gravity_cow]

lucky, I didn't know that until after I purified my ~97% houndoom

[@arranged.]

Would love it if you did more of these, I've been getting back into POGO this year and have been very confused about the new systems and everything

[@furkankostekli7400]

Im a returning player too from 2016, im sure you will get the flow in no time👍

[@qwmx]

@@furkankostekli7400 Same case here. First Gen (of PoGO) club!

[@gemignar]

Hm. When plugging my Pokémon into PokéGenie, it feels like it’s measuring “power per pound”. That is to say that some Pokémon per their IV’s are better off in certain leagues in certain forms of evolution. This makes sense when hearing about base stats versus IV’s, but my question is this: If a Pokémon is held in a 1st stage of evolution and placed in say, the Ultra League, would other factors keep this particular Pokémon viable in that particular league? Like speed of attack and/or ability to evade (typical of smaller Pokémon in some of the original Nintendo games), or would they be stomped outright because of their clear HP disadvantage? Tl;dr - are there stats within the base stats like speed and special attack, or have they been replaced entirely by IV and CP?

[@bethg1557]

This was very educational! Thanks! At level 50, though, we have to have things to motivate us to “catch them all,” so I do enjoy hundo hunting. (And shiny hunting, of course. Lol)

[@SussexSandra]

This was a total flex comment 🤣🤣🤣🤣Don’t blame you though. 🤗

[@22o2]

@@SussexSandra is ur second name sussex?

[@TheMishak855]

@@SussexSandra Naah , not flexi to me. This is just the way it is when you hit level 50 .

[@mitzki1214]

going for hundos also saves ton of stardust

[@pynoypride87]

So I haven’t been serious with PG since 2016…spent a months worth of take out budget to catch up from level 20 to 33. This is so helpful thank you!

[@p.s.7649]

Wow! Been playing for 5 years and never realized the the difference was only 4.8%. Thank you for this information and your amazing content. More camper/road trip vids please!!!!

[@cellophanezombie5621]

It is only 4% for Mewtwo. Those who have lower base stats will see a more significant improvement from good IVs

[@tngolo367]

@@cellophanezombie5621 More than that. It's 4.8% only if DEF and HP are the same.

[@thejworks07]

It's more than 4.8% You also add the percentages for each stat value because during battle you do more than just attack .you recieve damage and have hp So take the differences for each statistical category

[@Revelatus]

Great introductory explanation of stats and levels. I'll try to explain the complicated version for those who are interested. Be warned this is going to get real nerdy. I will be approaching this in a way that you only need to know two things about a particular species, it's base stats which are easily available online at places like SilphRoad, and the Combat Power Multiplier (CPM) that corresponds to that pokemon's level, a chart of which can also be found easily online. Firstly, HP isn't a stat, Stamina is the stat and the HP is a function of your Stamina and a thing called CPM or CP Modifier. The CP Modifier is a value ranging from 0.094 (level 1) to 0.84529999 (level 51). It should be noted, that there isn't a formula that can be used to determine this, it's a unique value for each level. Again, the chart is published many places online. CPM is extremely important for a few reasons, it determines your HP with this formula: HP = (Base Stamina + Stamina IV) * CPM. It's also used in the games damage calculation but that's a bit more complicated and involves a lot of different interactions between the two pokemon. Here it is: (note: this formula is the PVP formula, however the PVE formula is slightly different where you just change (16/25) to 0.5) Damage = Floor[(16/25)*MovePower*((Base Attack + Attack IV)/(Base Defense + Defense IV))*(Attacking CPM / Defending CPM) * STAB * EffectModifier] + 1 I'll explain each part. Floor is a simple function that just removes any decimal place off the end of a floating point number and transforms it into an integer value. So 4.1 becomes 4. 4.9 becomes 4. You get the idea. Base Attack and Attack IV are of the Attacking Pokemon while Base Defense and Defense IV are of the the defending pokemon. Same with the CPM values for each. STAB just adds a x1.2 modifier if the move type = the attacking mon type, so it can either equal 1 or 1.2. EffectModifier is a value of either: 1 (neutral), 1.6 (super effective), 0.625 (not very effective), 0.390625 (immune). Since many mons are double typed, you just take both values and multiply them. For example, lets say Talonflame gets hit by a rock move. Rock is super effective against fire and flying, so you do 1.6 x 1.6 = 2.56. So the EffectModifier value in this interaction would be 2.56. Then at the end of the formula, you add 1 which ensures that every move will always inflict a minimum of 1 damage no matter what. Okay that covers CPM and damage. Now lets look at how CP is calculated. Note that I'm using Sqr() to mean square root of. Here's the formula: CP = ((Base Attack + Attack IV) * Sqr(Base Defense + Defense IV) * Sqr(Base Stamina + Stamina IV) * (CPM ^ 2))/10 As you are probably starting to see this hidden CPM value that Niantic has attributed to each 'level' is really important throughout pretty much every aspect of the game. I've been working on coding a clone of GBL recently so yeah... It has been very eye opening lol.

[@TheSlashoxx]

Very informational video. Was nice to finally have a visual to the PVP IV correlation. Also most Math was correct ;P Overall I think a lot of people prefer powering up 100% IVs because stardust is such a limited resource and when powering up a Hundo it is very unlikely that you ever get a Pokemon of the same species where you feel like 'oh, this one is better, I wish I did not blow my dust (and candy) on that other one the other day'

[@Jkenshi]

I've seen a lot of IV explainer vidoes, but this is the best one by far. I actually feel a lot better now. I have a bunch of pokemon that are far from perfect, but I really enjoy playing with them, even in the ML and they put in a ton of work and get me some clutch wins. Now I understand why a lot better. One thing that really annoys me that I haven't heard anyone touch on is the way a 100% IV pokemon will often fall outside of being useful. For example... I managed to get a 100% IV Registeel. If I power it up to level 50 it will max out at 2766 CP... too low to be useful in ML, but if I power it to 2500 for UL, it only gets as high as 48%. So why would I bother to grind out more candy to power it up. There is sits... just a useless lump of perfect steel. I have a bunch of hundos that fall into the same mess.

[@aick]

I've noticed my 2 star Vaporeon has the best W/L ratio of any of mine, including two hundos who have negative records. Thanks for the confirmation!

[@legalam]

Yeah man, I was playing the 2500CP cup, and I was using a zero star snorlax and he was recking people. I had no idea his IV was low until I checked.

[@ArtimusDragon]

Great job, Nick. Remember this topic from your video back in 2016. One thing to add though, IVs only really matter in PVP. For raids, Team Rocket or anything else that's PVE related you don't need to worry about IVs. You can go in with the worst possible IVs if you want as long as your Pokemon has the right moves for whatever it's attacking. In PVP IVs matters in terms of survivability and when your paired up in the mirror (Azumarill vs Azumarill, Dialga vs Dialga, etc).

[@abrielmauerman7278]

Even still, those IVs in mirror matches can still be worked around for the most part. If I learn that I'm winning the speed test for charge moves in an azu mirror match, doesn't matter how much more bulky they are, I win against them because my charge moves get to go first. Or if I know they're winning speed advantage, I can just work on trying to get extra energy when I know they'll try to attack so I can take the lead later. I think way too many trainers worry about ivs first without working on skill, and honestly ivs are the last 2% of things to worry about in battling. You rarely run into situations where you absolutely know your optimized bulk ivs actually made a difference. People should focus on counting moves, learning to bait shields, and figuring out what kind of pokemon the enemy might have based off their lead and switch in before they try to crunch ivs.

[@Kazami101]

@@abrielmauerman7278 Well said. This is something I've also found to be completely true in my PVP experience. Sometimes, it's much better to know what you're dealing with than what you've got.

[@twizack22]

For a while I was totally stressed out about not having great IV. Then I started to feel better when I started to consider what I'll be using them for. The most important thing for me is raids. So the attack stat is the thing that matters the most for me. Bottom line is I have a strong counter pokemon that hits hard. I find my strongest pokemon then use the rest for accumulating candy to power it up. I'm starting to like having a diverse team for a raid.

[@Irapur]

Love this! Can you break down what stats and effectiveness look like against a raid boss or something like that? (I.e. lvl 30/40/50 Mewtwo, 0* vs 4* against a boss). Would love to see what it really means for damage output and time to take down.

[@ValorDucky]

4* is absolutely essential for master league. In mirror matches, you need that attack advantage to win cmp ties, which is when they fire off a charge move at the same time and the higher attack goes first. If you lose that, you basically lose the matchup unless you sneak in an extra attack which happens randomly. There are specific matchups that require at least certain amount of defense and hp to be viable, but 15 attack is a must.

[@puffballbk2186]

It is usually so minor you wouldn't see a difference, just cause you win by a pixel of health on a mirror, it doesn't mean that your iv worked etc. Other more important factors out of your control could've played part like internet connection and shi

[@ValorDucky]

@@puffballbk2186 most important factor are the CMP ties in mirror matches, and the higher attack is always the winner.

[@puffballbk2186]

@@ValorDucky it won't matter of the game lags and it skips over your tap, basically ending your chances at winning, IVs are relatively irrelavent keep coping

[@ValorDucky]

@@puffballbk2186 now you're speaking 'what ifs'. Every video game ever can have lag. But in any normal circumstance, highest attack iv is the victor. Especially since last season, they fixed the issue where you can randomly not attack as the opponent starts a charge move. I dare you to play with a non 15 attack giratina in the lead in master league. Unless you win the baiting game, more often than not you will lose the mirror match.

[@puffballbk2186]

@@ValorDucky alright bet

[@andrewsingles9098]

This is one of those things that makes sense when you think about it, but I really use it as a tie-breaker. I play pretty casually, so I don’t have enough resources to pump whatever into whatever. So if I’m going to spend them, I want them to go into the best possible specimen (within reason).

[@azzulm6456]

This was a great video. Thank you for breaking down every little thing you can possibly explain. It was very easy to understand and my perspective has changed when looking at IVs

[@mattrideout4428]

Great video 👍🏻 easily the best presented and to the point video I've seen on IV'S, great knowledge for new players

[@kingslandashley]

You had a really old video explaining this that I watched as a beginner and it helped my game play! I looooveee these types of videos!

[@BurritoGalaxy]

The most important part of attack IVs is fast move damage breakpoints for both raids and pvp. Since damage is calculated with decimals but HP uses integers. For example, with a fast move like dragon breath which does a little damage and hits quickly, sometimes having 1 extra point in your attack IV is just enough to get the damage to round up to do 1 extra point of damage which is huge for a move that attacks so quickly. This affects raids only sometimes and is more important with moves that hit quickly like dragon breath In pvp a huge example of this is the dialga mirror matchup, where a dialga having a high enough attack IV or the opposing dialga having a low enough defense IV makes it so one dialgas dragon breath does 4 damage while the other does 5. This results in one dialga being left with around 1/3 of its HP left outside of these cases the attack IV does not matter very much Edit: Forgot to say this was a great video!

[@seangere9698]

Nice, Nick is back to the old TT that we all know and love. I've missed the tips and tricks you used to do. Thanks for doing this, makes me feel better only having one hundo.

[@StevenLeeStudios]

Its a shame because it makes no sense, I known this to be true for a while, but still doesnt feel right when you get a hundo or shundo, doesnt feel as rewarding. You get excited for a bit, then your like, well its not even as good as a 2 or a 1 star.

[@deviousj5868]

They should just do away with CP and do what they do in the Main series.

[@azizrampage]

'' You get excited for a bit, then your like, well its not even as good as a 2 or a 1 star.'' not everyone thinks like that because there's people that brag about there hundos and how many they have to this day , the only person who'll say its not as good as 2* or 1* is probably some casual player

[@adamd5790]

It's not that they're not as good as a 2 or 1 star, it's that they aren't that much better. For pokemon with higher stats, a 15 point boost to all stats won't be as impactful as a pokemon with lower base stats. It's an additive bonus, not a multiplier, so the point is to not overthink which pokemon to power up. While I don't have a problem with powering up lower IV pokemon, I don't have a very big group to raid with, so the pokemon I do power up will have higher IV's and since the resources aren't free, I typically go for upper 90's to 100.

[@lopoa126]

Raids, gyms and Master League ....hundro's are outright better there....

[@xdrkcldx]

It's exactly the same I'm the main games. Unless you do PvP, IVs don't really matter. And even then they only matter slightly. It's the difference of surviving an attack from a specific pokemon where you would die if you had less than 31 IVs in HP/Def or killing a pokemon in 1 hit if you have 31 in Atk or not. But I don't know how many situations come down to 1 point in the main games.

[@qwmx]

Returning player from 2016 (July), I must say, you have helped me enjoy POGO a but more by helping me remove the stress about waiting for perfect IV pokemon to show up. THANKYOU!

[@dalton6173]

Yes it is better to focus on hitting and charge hitting at the right times, as quickly as possible although having a pokemon with full stats & even a 4% stronger than the weakest ones well that is still useful. In fact it will be even more useful with that few % more in stats.

[@jaiward4869]

This just broke my heart because I have transferred so many 13/13/13 and up Pokémon just cuz I thought 4* Pokémon were better.

[@Kyielith]

They are technically better just not by much

[@ChrisM-qo1jc]

but they are better. thats your fault for transferring when you didnt have a hundo to replace them yet

[@jaiward4869]

@@ChrisM-qo1jc thanks for rubbing it in I guess, that wasn't really necessary. Not like I'm supposed to know everything about everything in life. But cool

[@justuraveragecunt9005]

​@@jaiward4869 that wasnt anything about knowing anything. Shit's just common sense ??? 💀

[@jaiward4869]

@@justuraveragecunt9005 what?

[@adambryszkiewicz9018]

I love watching you for your super personality and the fact that you speak very clearly. Keep it up! :)

[@IssaBS]

This video is amazing, i've been playing since the start but took a break from the game because of the pandemic, and now i'm back, you have helped me with fomo so much, its a very simple and fantastic way of hearing "don't worry", "have fun", "come back and play" thank you!! you are the best.!! thank you!!

[@monstamash77]

Takes me back to those early day Trainer Tips videos when PoGo first came out. Watched just for the nostalgia :)

[@afterwalker6773]

An important and often overlooked detail about Attack in pokemon go is that it also determines priority, since there is no Speed stat in the game. For instance, if I and my opponent each start an ultra league battle with skeledirges that both know incinerate and shadow ball, and we both use shadow ball at the same time (immediately after 3 incinerates), the skeledirge with the higher attack will use shadow ball first.

[@cheknauss9867]

Oooo wth? 🤯 Hmm

[@rsd050291]

I am a little sad break points never came up in this video and the damage was just stated as those increases because it has a lot more nuisance than that. Sometimes you might be using a 14 attack Pokémon vs a 15 attack both maxed out and that would show mathematically to be less than 1% difference but in practice that can be more than a 5% damage loss. Granted i agree that isn't a big diffreance but i think breakpoints should've been mentioned because Pokémon damage is rounded and only when you hit certain values does your damage increase

[@hao2000ki]

breakpoints belong to a pvp iv deep dive because it is much more complicated than the topics he talked about here and focuses more on pvp scenarios. this is an all you need to know general guide for ivs overall

[@rsd050291]

​@@hao2000ki I understand what you're trying to say but i think you missed the exact point i'm getting at. Break points aren't a thing as much in pvp in terms of how that phrase is used in pve. In PvE you use break points to check that a Mewtwo with 15 attack on X pokemon with X value def can do 6% more damage than a mewtwo with 14 attack. In PvP i've never though about break points as much as just optimal IV's. Breakpoints are numbers and values that trigger the games rounding and that isn't as much targeted in pvp more just overall rounding the stats out.

[@hao2000ki]

@@rsd050291 i mean breakpoints and bulkpoints are used in the exact same way in pvp, except they have more value because you are in a 3v3 scenario where you can often find yourself barely winning or barely losing the match, and that can be down to, yes an optimization of ivs, using breakpoints. reaching a breakpoint in pvp, provided you have similar bulk, isn't only valued at a 6% increase in dps. dealing enough damage to take out an opponent before they can use their charge move to deal heavy damage to you can often win you the match on the spot, so i don't know how you can say it's not as much of a thing in pvp. plus, i pretty much only hear people talk about breakpoints in pvp usage because for pve, you generally just power up your highest iv if you have the resources or a mixture of high iv/high level/lucky if you want to save on resources. breakpoints in pve is simply way too unnecessary trying to compare every raid boss's defense with your pokemon's attack, just to shave off maybe 2 seconds of the raid timer, which often doesn't even benefit your rewards at all

[@samamies88]

@@hao2000ki Hydreigon. For mewtwo raids you needed attack 15 iv for breakpoint to make it #1 counter thats not shadow or mega. Here we assume you are using lvl 40 pokemon for raid. If you had 14atk iv then u need to power up hydreigon 3 times (lvl 41,5) to match up with missing atk. You drop quite many positions without this bp. These do matter sometimes when soloing, duoing or undermanning raid bosses. Its not just for pvp.

[@tyronewaldon3909]

This is so interesting! Taking your Azumarill example... if those two fought each other and both used the same move that did 40 damage, the Azumarill with the higher attack stat would need to land 40 hits in order to knock out the other Azu, whereas the Azumarill with the lower attack only needs to attack 18 times. This was eye-opening, thank you!

[@justusbowman]

That math seems off. Where did you get it?

[@notrobot2]

Wait what

[@EndersandYT]

​@bowmanencore he didn't understand pokemon attacks don't think

[@puliego3650]

Very nicely summed up. The only small thing I can pick at is the shadow pokémon defense debuff, which is not exactly 20% but around 17% (16.7% exactly if I remember correctly). Obviously it won't make too much of a difference so I'm not surprised most people doesn't really care.

[@wesgaljour3082]

Simply put, this is the best video I've seen explaining IV's and the like.

[@Ravenz4770]

I appreciate you putting this video together. My eyes crossed when you were explaining the formula 😂 so I had to watch it again.

[@ryancolegrove5994]

Much needed video! Such a solid breakdown. When it comes to PVP IVs dont matter until they SUPER matter so yeah idk who decided it at Niantic all those years ago but the hunt is always on for us PVPers trying to get the most optimal IVS. Take notes on those trade floor level IVs yall! thanks for this to reference to other community members as well

[@_flex5k]

Having good stats for me simply justifies spending a significant amount of stardust and candies when powering one or multiple up to level 50.

[@dafidhardi4661]

Nobody ever explained better! THX a lot!

[@dalton6173]

Purify Shadow Pokemon that you don't plan on actually using, when you have a research mission to do so. You could also purify them and check them if you're near the cap of how many Pokemon you can have. This way you can purify them and Chuck them and the next time that you encounter A team rocket you can have hopefully more pokeballs depending on how many Pokemon you have purified. I know it at least give you one more for having purified a few however I don't know how much that can go up and I don't understand what the hero thing is. Obviously I played whenever Pokemon go what's new and I'm literally just getting back into it like this week..

[@vidigonzales7164]

Bro top tier video! Easy to follow on such a complex mechanic, i knew everything but still watched the whole video cause it is that good 👍🏼

[@robertovega9619]

i think you discounted the -20% defense too much that seemed to balance things especially since you can get more Hits per match if you have more HP. Most recommendations should include time to strike. So this should be refined to consider time of life in a battle -20% means i'm not out on the field longer so i'm missing on 2 or 3 hits that would equal more dmg over the 20% boost plausibly.

[@spencerweiss6337]

It's a huge deal lol "Never purify" is wildly misleading -- hell, some pokemon (sableye) are best when purified bc they get access to Return

[@lucaspires4033]

Chikorita e bom purificar

[@lucaspires4033]

?

[@abaraigamer8814]

Yup, this

[@karenl2977]

I need to watch this video a couple times, there’s so much good info that I didn’t learn from the beginning of playing, thank you so much!

[@dalton6173]

I would say that if you find a Pokemon with perfect IVs then cool power that one up amongst all the other Pokemon that are of the same name. However I do agree that as long as it's got three stars and none of the individual stats are extremely low then go ahead and power that one up too especially while you're still working your way up to level 50. This way you still have something that is stronger than most other Pokemon of the same name however you're not powering up the weakest one to where you have to be a much higher level in order to even think about standing a chance of winning.

[@phaustho]

This was just perfect. What a nice video! (I already knew most of it, but it was still great to watch it!) Keep them coming, these videos are the best!

[@marieulvund3109]

Great information! Personally I already knew it's not that much of a difference. I use the IV stats to decide what Pokémon to keep and toss. Even though it doesn't matter too much, I'd rather keep a 98 Zubat than the... 62 Zubat 😅

[@Cereal7313]

I cannot thank you enough for explaining this! It was thoroughly and clearly explained. I have been curious how all the IV stuff works, but I hadn’t found a good explanation that was easy to understand.

[@Chrischzz]

Good to know that 4* aren't just the best to get. If you want to battle and raid etc it doesn't make much difference. Still 4* pokemon seems to be less common, so it is quite nice to have them anyway. As a collector it is.

[@SnooWords97]

I like to think of it like this: a 4* Pokemon means that it will be the best that it can be when at a higher CP or even maxed out. In Raids and Master League, that will make a difference.

[@sumpyori]

@@SnooWords97 It barely makes a difference in most cases with Raids unless youre trying to solo a 5*, in Master League though yes because everyone has maxed out pokemon.

[@SnooWords97]

@@sumpyori In Raids, you're trying to beat the clock if you don't have that many people, so those IVs do matter to a certain extent. Same thing with Mega Raids, since you get more Mega Energy the faster you beat the Raid (doesn't really matter too much with a big group of people for Mega Raids, though).

[@Buktu94]

@@SnooWords97 then again having a pokemon die faster in a raid does not have be a bad thing and can even raise your dps! since your dps is highest when dying right after your charge move it is quite pointless to survive long enoght to charge it back up to 99% and not get it out before you die. Ofc it can be vice versa as well. Oh and you have to take into account that you might need an additional round of healing if you die faster and so on.

[@EndersandYT]

​@Buktu94 when you die however it takes a minute for the animation and for switching to a new pokemon not to mention if your full team dies, overall maxed 4 stats almost always beats any other version (some scenarios where it's not the case) but in majority of battles it is a slight difference but it can mean life or death

[@cricketbug3380]

The fast catch thingy you taught us a few videos ago - game changer!! Your videos are great!!

[@kianmoran4869]

This is perfect I was on edge about my 14A zarude but now I’m definitely going to power it up great content love from 🇮🇪

[@damianodea9889]

FWIW they're (Zarude) all effectively as good as one another no matter the IVs. Mine is 'only' 13/10/12 and while I might wish for better, for gym raiding, the difference between mine and the Hundo is negligible.

[@mitzki1214]

@@damianodea9889 a 0iv level 50 zarude has 3824 cp while a hundo reaches 3833cp on level 40 btw my zarude is 10/10/14 XD

[@DanielGirardBolduc]

Wow this is some crazy good information. Thanks for taking the time to provide all those information !! Really Apreaciated.

[@BumblingB-DC]

I'm pretty sure that at Niantic, when it came to attack mattering more is because the speed stat is calculated into the attack. In the main series games, we have 6 stats: attack, special attack, defense, special defense, stamina, and speed. They lumped the speed into the attack stat when they made it only 3 IVs: attack, defense, health. Personally, I don't see an issue with purifying pokemon if they feel like it. Some people don't like the idea of pokemon being in pain, my little brother and wife as an example. They purify when possible. I've also purified pokemon just because, like the Apex Lugia. I was NEVER planning to use it in raids and personally would rather use a purified one in PvP. Also, the base IVs are used in Charge Move Priority, not the overall damage. So a shadow pokemon with 0 in attack would lose CMP to a normal mirror of the same pokemon with 1 in attack. One more thing, at level 31, you can go past 40 on a pokemon with XLs if you have them now. My wife's account shows the ability to do so, she's 38. She just can't go to full level 50 yet.

[@sweetpeaches6979]

This whole comment is under-explained and vague, and it’s bothering me. Why would you “rather” use a purified Pokémon in pvp rather than a shadow Pokémon? Shadow mons are flat out stronger than purified mons no? Also their are no “base ivs” only base stats and ivs, so can you clarify what you’re even talking about when you say “base ivs are used in charge move priority?” Lastly, what do you mean a mirror of a shadow Pokémon? Are you trying to say purified? And what does “lose cmp” mean? All these abbreviations and slang made your what could have been a useful comment into something confusing and not very clear or helpful

[@BumblingB-DC]

@@sweetpeaches6979 In PvP, there is no Speed stat, so they base who wins a tie with your attack stat. So if you get to your charge move at the same time as your opponent, the one who gets to have their move go first gets what is called "Charge Move Priority" or "CMP". In regards to Shadow vs Regular, a shadow gets a 20% attack increase on top of the output damage (and a 20% defense decrease as well.) This does not impact your base stats/IVs other than the amount of damage you can output. So in a mirror match, like a swampert vs a shadow variant, the one with the higher attack stat would win because it can hit it's attack first. As for my preference on having a Purified Lugia, it really is because of bulk. That 20% defense debuf adds up overtime and if Lugia is being hit by neutral damage, you can last longer to win. People get caught up on damage output and never look at the overall potential. In raids, damage means faster completions, but doesn't necessary mean the same with PvP. Which is why people are always looking for IV spreads of like 0 in attack and 15 in HP and Defense.

[@mateusserafim]

That video brings me the nostalgia of the Parasect melting gyms back in 2016, with Kubbi's Firelight playing on the background. Heck of a ride watching you all of those years. Good to see you, Nick. Take care and greets from Brazil!

[@paullwrightt]

More meta, but I remember seeing ya when pokemon go first came out in 2016 on youtube, and remembered not being super interested. I really enjoyed this video though, and it seems (like all of us), you have really changed since then, and I really feel weird for never clicking on any of your videos until now.

[@mjjulian72]

Nick, thank you!!!! You posted this video just as I have a full bag I'm cleaning out and tagging for transfer on Tuesday. Perfect timing! Until;l now I never realized how much hatched adds to the value when deciding which to keep.

[@chends888]

4:06 it might actually be a bit higher than this. Because if a pokémon has 15 atk and 0 def IVs, it will actually charge energy faster than a 100% IV pokémon, because it's taking more damage in battle, thus, charging energy faster

[@NotGord]

Yeah but at least now I know to not care about the difference between like 13,14,and 15 iv

[@johanjonsson2190]

Man, i've honestly missed you so much. I used to watch every single one of your videos during 2017-2019ish. Then i kind of stopped watching PGo content on YT. You inspire me so much, it's a joy to watch your videos, and you've helped me so much with confidence about my body type and dressing style, as ours are pretty similar, and you show so much confidence. Thank you Nick!

[@Maart18x]

Thanks for the video! It's always nice to hear how you are open to so many points of view. Like, anyone can judge for themselves how their Pokémon might be good to them. You just give us the statistic information with the disclaimer that it shouldn't necessarily mean that much. I'm a collector at heart, and my hundo's are just precious pieces of a beautiful collection to me, no matter their relevance in terms of battle. The 0%'s are really cool to collect as well😁🤙

[@seydouprod]

Man I'm back to your channel after being here in your EARLY days. I actually saw one of your first Pogo video when you were walking in your neighborhood

[@coogan5729]

I just love them for the collection aspect of the game. The lack of solution, or even effort, by Niantic for that dex is disappointing. I made myself a whole graph of functional hundos as well.

[@SnooWords97]

Isn't there a 4* Dex in Go if you go to the Pokedex?

[@coogan5729]

@@SnooWords97 It's quite unfinished as Niantic only started collecting data on them at a certain point and they have seemed to indicate there is not any plans to address it.

[@haqu123321]

Great video and I love that you put your sources in the description. thanks!

[@Drewzhouse]

Not to take anything away from other content creators, you have to be my favourite. I started watching your videos when I started playing and I feel like your content has been a great trainer for me. Thanks man from 🇨🇦

[@raylop80731]

This type of video is way I started following you to begin with. Glad youre bringing them back.

[@OfficialSkankHunt42]

I have always wondered this! I wonder why players in my community tell me that when they get a 96% they don’t power it up. I wonder why cause I would love a 96

[@richterbelmont2544]

Some folks are purists/elitist try hards and only want the hundos. I'm happy if it's an 89% IV or better.

[@ovidiufarcau243]

I knew that difference between, a Hondo and a random good trade( or wild) was small but I imagined like 3 - 4 percent, but with you calculations I realize it is actually even smaller than 1% SO I AM REALLY HAPPY THAT I POWERED WHAT POKEMON I HAD INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR A PERFECT ONE OR A HONDO !

[@makeme9366]

Thank you for your recent episodes. I am not a gamer or PVP player but I absolutely adore Pokémon go. Watching your videos help me better understand the game in general. Likely will continue to be a general player but enjoy hearing knowing some of the other information. Appreciate your positivity toward the game. Nothing is perfect but I appreciate your attempt to focus on the good points.

[@rootsofonetree9674]

I miss having these info videos. Thanks for the great info my dood!

[@biomez]

we all know at the end of the day that it's just about rarity and it being special or perfect

[@HippoCrisis]

That's what it is for me or I wouldn't collect 0% ones haha

[@hnmAck]

If you're into pvp leagues, then you'll want to know the best stat combination. It might give you the last leg on that mirror match to resist one more fast attack

[@gildedcreed4438]

I've got an entire essay I could write about purification and their oddly specific edge case situations where the mechanic can actually be extremely good, but the gist of it is that for the majority of the playerbase (especially after the GO Beyond Update) either doesn't have a use for a lot of those niche scenarios or the options/benefits they provide aren't worth the cost of exploring them (often compared to safer investment routes). Basically "shadow vs purification" is just a different way of saying "material resources vs immaterial resources".

[@edbears5725]

I got a simple formula.....can it mega, if yes, purify at least one. No, don't purify. PVP is a whole can of worms of trading wins over x pokemon for wins over y pokemon........

[@gildedcreed4438]

@@edbears5725 One extremely specific niche is how freshly caught shadows are either Lv8 or Lv13 but can be purified to be Lv25, which with the Go Beyond Update allowing for control of Pokemon +10 levels above your own it means that a Lv15 player could have Lv25 purified Pokemon and can breeze through content like most T1 and a few T3 raids with the right Pokemon, but because the Go Beyond Update made levelling easier most people would skip that in favor of saving their resources for hitting Lv30 (the advantage of which can be debated, as early raid mons can offer a good leg up compared to waiting for Lv30 to start building raid teams).

[@tranngoc-phi9961]

In Little Cup, IV can be important because the base stats are smaller, that's why IV will add alot to base stat. So consider not evol your hundo and keep them for Little Cup

[@eksmad]

Everything is known for years but seeing the comments it looks like it's really worth it pointing these things out once in a while again and again. Btw, very well done!

[@VEE3RDEYE]

Useful!

[@Timmering]

Thank you! :) Ive been trying to understand this concept for years and you made it perfect! Thank u!

[@zovwy6969]

I had a 13 13 13 larvitar i decided to purify it, it has really annoyed me

[@Dee33322]

I feel you, I purified a 96 larvitar and it went to 98 😭

[@ThatAnArchyDude]

6:07 Attack is worth more because it represents Physical/Special Attack. Defense & HP are worth less in the CP formula because they're essentially the same thing already...how much damage you can take. For example: I tested out two mons of the same species. One was 15/15/00 One was 15/00/15 They both took the same amount of damage from the same move, from the same Mon. So, basically, Defense & HP are the same stat split into two for the purpose accuracy is comparison to the more traditional stat representation.

[@rawtrout007]

i’ve been playing this game since 2017 and I’ve only ever gotten TWO perfect’s and three shinies. my luck sucks

[@NJOOSHY]

@@Moody_Blues_ this could be happen for town that barely have pokestop and gym...

[@christopher24093]

Man, I've started playing again and I'm like super competitive and I wanted to have all my mon's 100 ivs. Thanks for explaining it's importance and the dark pokemon tip too!

[@girmontage]

yes finally i will max out my vaporeon even hes not a perfect IV... hes been there since 2016🤣

[@robertovega9619]

Vaporeon has one of the fastest charges still over other water pokemon. Just sayin...

[@Aloha745]

@@robertovega9619 quick question if you don’t mind - what stat determines how quickly a Pokémon’s charge attack refreshes? Thanks!

[@Aloha745]

@Reality so for example, comparing two of the same Pokémon, would it be better to use one with less stars but that has a higher attack advantage?

[@mychaldunkle6474]

Small addition: wild spawns will all have the same IVs for all trainers lvl 30+. So if someone in your group chat/discord posts "100% beldum at [POI]," it'll be there for all lvl 30+ trainers. So ppl living in population centers can have dozens to hundreds of trainers hunting for IVs rather than just hunting by themselves.

[@instincthaun3073]

A 4% increase in damage is a huge upgrade and worth hunting for. Also the increase in defense and hp allows you to survive longer to do even more extra damage. I’d bet if you’d calculated everything together it’s around 12%-17% stronger pokemon

[@phoenixash8514]

Exactly. So many variables not explained in this info. How fast their attack is and how fast it builds its charge move, which this IVS will affect outcome, and the account you can take when that one last little bit that allows you to get in ur last CRUCIAL charge move.

[@ManofSwords17]

100/100 short, not complicated,and easily digestable! Thank you kind sir!!!!

[@DaTruDreamers]

And then you see a 4 star chansey in great league. 😆

[@beccaschlomann7592]

This was so helpful. I’m a newer player, though I’ve played other Pokémon games, and after several videos and articles I still didn’t get it. I feel so much better equipped to make choices and to also not stress so much.